During the TV coverage of the olympic trials this weekend, Rowdy Gaines mentioned a few times that Phelps has "a long body and short legs" which gives him a perfect build for swimming. (In addition, of course, to his long wingspan.)
I can understand the long body. But why would short legs be an advantage?
My recollection of these sorts of discussions was that the longer your "boat" is, the faster you can go. It would seem, therefore, that both a long body AND long legs would be an advantage.
Comments?
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Former Member
Originally posted by valhallan
Range of motion in their limbs is just as important as how long the arms are. Phelps has incredible flexiblity.
Something else I noticed about Phelps. He seems to get more extension from his shoulders than other guys. I noticed it on some of the overhead shots from the trials.
When a swimmer's hand strikes the water, he can get extra extension by pushing his arm forward under water (actually rolling his shoulders) and Phelps seemed to get an extra 18 inches (I know, that's an exaggeration) on each arm over his competitors. He seemed to get more from his right arm than his left...
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As for the original question (about the advantage of short legs) I just can't make sense of that notion. I think I'm going to dismiss it and stop worrying that my legs are too long for swimming. :)
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Former Member
Originally posted by valhallan
Range of motion in their limbs is just as important as how long the arms are. Phelps has incredible flexiblity.
Something else I noticed about Phelps. He seems to get more extension from his shoulders than other guys. I noticed it on some of the overhead shots from the trials.
When a swimmer's hand strikes the water, he can get extra extension by pushing his arm forward under water (actually rolling his shoulders) and Phelps seemed to get an extra 18 inches (I know, that's an exaggeration) on each arm over his competitors. He seemed to get more from his right arm than his left...
---
As for the original question (about the advantage of short legs) I just can't make sense of that notion. I think I'm going to dismiss it and stop worrying that my legs are too long for swimming. :)
